Storytelling Dinner Series Premieres at Velas Resorts

To connect guests with local Mexican tradition and culture, Velas Resorts in Los Cabos, Riviera Maya, Riviera Nayarit and Puerto Vallarta are now offering storytelling dinners.

In addition to the dishes themselves having a story, wait staff will tell guests narratives about the region throughout the dining experience. In the Riviera Maya, special artisanal dinner plates made by indigenous peoples will showcase the dishes and at Casa Velas the dinner will be held in an art gallery.

At Grand Velas Riviera Maya, the Yucatecan Chaka and Frida, its gourmet Mexican restaurant, will immerse guests in the history of these cultures through food and drink. Chef Laura Avalos at Chaka has designed a special menu based on a Mayan tale of two warrior brothers, Kinich and Tizic, and the woman they fall in love with, Nicté-Há. At Frida, Chef Ricardo de la Vega will avail guests of stories about Frida's wedding to Diego and her famed artwork, with dishes inspired by each. The dishes will be served on artisanal ceramic plates made by indigenous people of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Jalisco. Also sold in the hotel's boutique, they're made from authentic techniques that have been handed down over generations.

Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit, guests will enjoy a special menu with food from the Nayarit region on its beachfront. Menu highlights include San Blas-style fish ceviche; Jalisco-style stewed beef birria; and creamy coconut tart with mango-jackfruit gelato. The dining area will be decorated with some of the traditional menu ingredients such as blue corn and different kind of chiles. A Huichol artisan will be creating traditional handicrafts during the dinner.

Guests dining at Grand Velas Los Cabos at Frida will experience a menu that is as colorful as her paintings. Pre-Hispanic foods honor Mexico's culture and gastronomy, including quintoniles (Mexican greens), escamoles (ant caviar) and corn. According to ancient Mexicans, corn is considered to be the basis for the creation of humans and a fundamental element of the indigenous peoples, making it an important part of the menu. Drinks served during dinner will based on Frida's Mexican spirits she served at her house in Coyoacan in Mexico City, including raicilla, tequila and mezcal.

Guests staying at Casa Velas, an adults-only boutique hotel in Puerto Vallarta, can learn about the Huichol culture through dinners at the Colectika art gallery in downtown Puerto Vallarta. While sipping a Tejuino, a typical drink from the region, dinner begins with a painting activity. Following, throughout the three-course dinner, guests will learn more about the Huichol culture and community from experts on the Huichol people.

The storytelling dinners are included complimentary at the Grand Velas resorts. The cost for the Storytelling Dinner at Casa Velas is $450 plus service per person inclusive of transportation from the hotel to the gallery.